Re-introduction of Quadrophonic hi-fi

[admin_exported]

I have been contemplating buying a Marantz Quad Reciever from the 70s for quite a while now, and never really got round to it because of the prices of these amps and the running costs involved.

Obviously, the world was getting set for Quadrophonic hi-fi in the mid 70s...but it never really caught on...a bit like DCC or Dolby FM. Even JVC was bringing out tuners set for quadrophonic broadcasting! What hit me today was why this hasn't returned. With home-cinemas seemingly replacing stereo hi-fi, why has no one thought of broadcasting DAB in quadrophonic or Dolby Digital or the like? Why also, are CDs STILL in stereo? It wouldn't take much to make quadrophonic CDs...and yet no one has done it. I think it is a better time for such a product than it was over thirty years ago...maybe it is a niche that I should fill!

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[laserman16]

Stereo CDs only? Have you looked at SACDs which have been around five years or so.

 

[Anonymous]

Two ears.

 

[Anonymous]

Are you saying that SACDs are four channel? Or that my comparison with hi-fi flops was wrong? It probably was, I should change it to Mini Disk.

 

[Andrew Everard]

[quote user="Hughes123"]Are you saying that SACDs are four channel? Or that my comparison with hi-fi flops was wrong? It probably was, I should change it to Mini Disk.[/quote]

Yes, some multichannel SACDs are four-channel, some are up to six-channel, and some even recreate early three-channel stereo recordings, with left, centre and right channels.

BTW, did you know that MiniDisc was one of the original names considered for CD? Seems the people at Philips thought calling it Compact Disc would remind people of Compact Cassette, and make the new optical disc an easier sell.

Actually, I think what scuppered quadrophonic sound - apart from the problems of convincing people they needed four identical speakers in their room - was the fact that there were two competing formats, each using different encoding, and thus requiring different equipment.

Sounds familiar...?

 

[Anonymous]

SACD vs CD?

VHS vs Betamax?

Blueray vs HD DVD?

Compact Cassette vs 8 track?

Don't be silly Andrew, I've never heard of such a conflict!

Thanks for all your comments, I can honestly say I did not know that SACDs could be more than 2 channels! Bit of a shame really, I've just bought a standard CD player...I should have bought a SACD player!

-And I didn't know CD was to be called Mini-disk! That's one for the pub-quiz!